The Best Thing About Me is You
by artemis1881
Summary: Galex goodness :
1. Words, Work and Wine

'If I _ever _hear you talk to me like that in front of the Super again, I'll-'

'You'll do what, Gene? Have me transferred? Because if that's the case I can think of a whole lot of other things I could say to you in front of him!' Alex Drake squared up to her DCI, her face just as full of contempt as his.

'Fine!' Gene roared back, poking a gloved finger at her face, 'If that's the way you want it Drake, I'll sort the paperwork for you right now! Granger, A17 form- pronto!' Shaz jumped as he barked her name and hurried off to one of her filing cabinets. As Gene turned to them, Chris and Ray were suddenly very fascinated in the witness reports on their desks.

'Y'know Guv, I thought by now you might have acknowledged some of the assets I offer this team, but you're still the same as you always were- a mysogynistic, self-righteous dinosaur! You can't function properly without at least a gallon of alcohol and two packets of cigarettes, you bite the head off anyone who comes to you for advice, if it's not about football or gambling! And if someone has a different opinion to you they must be wrong and you make sure they know it.' Alex raised her hands in the air in exasperation, 'How do you _expect _people to speak to you, Gene? I must have been mad to think I could work with an over-the-hill, power-hungry relic like you!'

Alex wanted to swallow her words back as soon as they'd left her mouth, She loved working with Gene, and didn't want to imagine being on anyone else's team. Unfortunately her pride would never dream of letting her apologise, so she stood firm, chin up, cheeks sucked in, her chest raising and falling rapidly as adrenalin surged through her.

Gene stared at her, his jaw clamped shut and his eyes cold and hard, an expression Alex had only seen him reveal to the worst of London's scum. His balled fists were at his sides, and for a moment, no one said a word. Alex and Gene were stood less than a metre from each other, but at that moment they couldn't have been further apart.

'Get out, Alex.' Gene said finally. His tone was low, dangerous.

Alex felt her resolve weaken at his rare use of her name, but not one for showing her enervation, she stared at him a moment more and spun away, snatching her keys from her desk and leaving the doors swinging precariously in her wake.

Gene stayed rooted to the spot for a split-second, before turning and heading determinately for his office, bellowing that the show was over and would they ever get on with some bloody work for a change.

'Those two have _got _to get themselves shagged,' Ray sat back and breathed out a long stream of smoke as the general hubub of the office began to sound once more, 'either with each other, or someone else. It's driving me bloody barmy.'

Chris nodded, glancing at the Guv's office and leaning over to Ray, 'Do you think they already have, Ma'am and the Guv?'

Ray shook his head categorically. 'If they had, it wouldn't be so flamin' unbearable here. Guv'd be far to worried he wouldn't be gettin' a repeat performance if you catch my drift.'

'CARLING! WORK!' came Gene's yell from behind his half closed door, and Ray returned quickly to his files.

_How could he have told me to leave like that, in front of everyone? _Alex sat on the floor, her back against the sofa and a glass of wine in her hand, the events of the day churning over and over in her mind. She knew very well the answer to her question, and the hardest part was accepting that she actually deserved it.

It had all started when they were summoned to the Super's office that morning. He had pulled Alex and Gene in over a spate of drug busts which the team had co-ordinated over the past few weeks but had all come to nothing.

'It's a waste of money, time, and resources, not to mention the continuation of dealing that is going on whilst your department let the bastards slip through your fingers.'

Alex had not been surprised to hear the usually passive Superintendent speak profanely. It was common knowledge his neice was hospitalised due to heroin addiction, and this one factor alone had made him push all departments of Fenchurch East in getting as many druggies off the streets as possible.

Gene stood with his hands in his pockets staring at the ceiling, whilst Alex had chosen to sit just in front of him, across from the Super. Alex had gone on to try and convice him that they were doing all they could to move up the supply chain and sniff out the dealers, rather than the two-bit users who could be found on almost every street in Inner London. Gene had then reminded her that whilst catching the dealers would see there being less drugs on the streets, pulling in as many users as possible would give them more information on the best places they could start looking, as well as maybe drawing out some of the dealers by default.  
Although she couldn't remember word-for-word what had been said in the heat of the moment, she knew it had ended badly with her making Gene look rather stupid, and not as though they were on the same team at all.

Alex knew she had to put her pride in her pocket in apologise, even though the thought of doing so was extremely unappealing. She couldn't stomach the smugness from Gene if she said sorry, but it stuck in her gut more to know that he now thought the words she had used about him were her true feelings.

_If only he did know my true feelings_, she gulped down the last dregs of her wine and looked at the clock. Almost eight. The team would be downstairs at Luigis, not more than twenty feet south of where she sat. She had mustered up enough dutch courage to apologise, but knew she wouldn't go down and do it in front of everyone else. _I could wait until morning, but then I might have left it too long to undo the damage._

Knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep, yet not wanting to face anyone downstairs, Alex shrugged her jacket on and made her way across to the station. She had to try and sort this Drug bust mess out, and if it was going to be her last week there the team needed someone to try and make sense of where they'd gone wrong. Struggling to wrap the white leather jacket around her body, she cursed herself for not finding something warmer to put on. It had been below freezing for the last few days, and although it was only November the weather reports had suggested snow might be on it's way. This had pissed Gene off instantly, who saw snow not as something which could be playful or beautiful, but as a hindrance, noting just how much harder it would be to chase some pisshead burglar down the street, not to mention ploughing the Quattro out of a drift should they get stuck.

The station was quiet, but then again it was only Monday; criminals usually got off to a slow start before a flood of them arrived midweek. Alex passed the night Skip at the front desk with a small greeting, and went straight to CID. Through the glass of the double doors everything was dark, except for the dim glow of the table lamp which sat on Gene's desk. _He couldn't still be there, surely?_ She had assumed he went to Luigis at six, with the rest of them. The blinds were drawn and the door shut, so there was no way of knowing whether the lamp had been left on accidentally or whether Gene lay within.

Silently, Alex pushed open the door and glanced at her desk as she crossed the room. Her name plate was still on it, which she supposed was a good sign. She had imagined him throwing it across the room in a rage, maybe even hitting poor Chris on the head in the process.  
Nervously, she gave a gentle knock on the door. It took so long for him to answer, Alex was certain he wasn't there.

''Oo'ever it is, piss off.'  
Gene's low grumble sounded out, and she was surprised to find her stomach do a very pronounced backflip. She took a deep breath and grasped the handle, putting her head around the door.

'Oh. It's you.'

He'd been drinking more than his fair share she could tell, but he definitely wasn't as worse for wear as she'd seen him in the past. _Maybe that's the best way I can talk to him_, she thought, more hopeful than confident. Gene was sat back in his chair, long legs crossed at the ankles on his desk. His jacket was off and top buttons undone, the red tie he'd been wearing earlier lying in a loose coil on the desk. His thumb and forefinger nursed a glass of whisky.

'Yeah.' She stepped inside and put her hands in her jeans pockets, not knowing quite where to start.

'Why are you here?' he said it quiet enough, but there was a still a clipped edge to his words. He wouldn't look at her.

'I came to find you.' _Well, almost the truth._ 'I need to say sorry for everything that happened earlier. I've been thinking about it all day, and from the moment I said what I said I knew it was wrong.'

Gene raised his eyebrows and put his lips into a pout. 'Maybe you were right with what you said though, Alex. Maybe I am just a dinosaur that needs to shape up or ship out.' he sniffed and looked away from her.

'No, Gene,' she crossed the room and sat down on the edge of his desk, which strangely seemed to go unnoticed by him as he stared past her, his thoughts somewhere else entirely.

_Oh God, I've really fucked up. He actually believed this rubbish, and I went and confirmed it, in front of everyone! Fuck._

'Gene. You are not over the hill, it was unfair and totally wrong of me to say that. You're a brilliant copper, with a razor-sharp instinct and stone-solid morals. Without you to lead us, this place would fall apart.' she put her fingertips to his cheek tenderly but shrank back when he jerked away from her touch. Her words that morning had wounded this lion deeper than she thought. She just hoped she could convince him otherwise.

He downed the last of his whiskey and shook his head, still not looking at her. 'No it wouldn't, Bols. You'd all be better off 'fer it.'

Tears sprang to Alex's eyes, 'That's not true, every one of us in this team needs you, Gene! You are the Guv, and not only that, you're the only constant thing I have here. If it weren't for you I don't know where I'd be, probably in some looney bin.'

'That's a bit far fetched, Bolly.' he chewed his lip and glanced at her sidewardly.

'No, it's not! When I first came here, I didn't know the sky from the ground. I thought my entire world had been turned inside out and I was scared, Gene, scared for my life.'

He looked at her finally, hearing her voice crack and unable to stop himself from putting a comforting hand on hers. Tears fell down her cheeks unstoppably, as hard as she tried to blink them back. The memories of her arrival and leaving Molly flooded through her like wave after wave of heartbreaking sadness.

'You always hold your own, never need anyone.' he said quietly, stroking his thumb over the top of her hand before curling his fingers back, turning away and pouring himself another whisky.

'That might be how it looks, Gene, but it's not the truth. I'm so scared, all of the time,' she croaked, more hot tears spilling down her face, 'The only time I feel truly safe is when I'm with you.'

Gene looked at her then, turning on the full intensity of his silver-blue gaze, almost as if he were looking into her mind. Alex was all but paralysed by him, it was as if his eyes held her there, unable to move, think, breathe. They were both so vulnerable, the only difference being she had been in this state frequently, yet Gene had never revealed this side to her before.

'Bolly...' he took her hands in his and stood, pulling her off the desk so they were face to face. Alex could hear his breathing begin to quicken, matching her own. His eyes flicked back and forth from her eyes to her lips, which were slightly parted, ready to capture his mouth with hers. Cupping her face with one hand he took her waist with the other, drawing her to his body and dipping his face to hers. Alex was breathless, unable to stop even if she had wanted to. All that mattered was the man in front of her and what was happening between them right at that moment, something Alex had dreamed of for so long.

'God, Alex...' it was no more than a breath from Gene.

Their lips were millimetres apart when the double doors flew open and Ray burst into CID, Chris following closely behind. Gene and Alex released each other instantly, making as much space between them in three seconds as possible. By the time the Ray opened the office door, the Guv and Bolly were both at opposite ends of the room, busying themselves with nothing.

'Guv... Ma'am,' Ray trailed, noticing Alex with a puzzled look.

'What is it, Ray?' Gene turned to the pair smoothly, a blank expression on his face revealing nothing of what was happening just seconds ago. Alex caught her reflection in the glass and was horrified to find her face and neck were heavily flushed pink, causing no doubt in anyone's mind of what she'd been up to.

'It's Luigi,' Chris was breathless; they'd obviously been running. 'He's been attacked, someone slashed his face-'

Gene grabbed his coat and stormed past them, the other three immediately on his tail.


	2. Risk or Reward

'What the 'ell happened in that restaurant that stopped you pair of twats and most of CID catching the bloody bastard that did this to Luigi?'

Gene paced the hall outside Theatre, where he, Alex, Chris and Ray had been waiting for the last half an hour.

'Luigi was in the back when it happened, we heard him shouting but by the time we got round the bar and into the back, the bastard was gone.' Ray shook his head, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. 'Chris called 999 and we ran outside, but there was no one, no one on the whole street. Me and Chris went opposite ways but we ended up going round in a circle and found nothing. Whoever it was just... vanished.'

'When we got back the ambulance had arrived, then we went straight over to the station.' Chris added, his elbows on his knees and hands in his hair.

Gene shook his head, disbelieving. 'They couldn't have got away that quick without being seen, did anyone check the toilets?'

Chris and Ray exchanged looks and shook their heads, eyes on the ground.

'Well that's just bloody brilliant isn't it?' Gene bellowed, leaning over the pair of them. 'You obviously didn't think that someone may have hid until it was easier to leave unnoticed. Tell me, are you still detectives or were you recently lobotomised?'

'Guv, it's not their fault.' Alex croaked quietly from her seat, the other side of the corridor. She had cried more than she thought she ever had tonight, her hand flying to her mouth when they were told by a doctor Luigi was lucky to be alive at all, such was the severity of his injuries.

'Well who's fault is it then, Drake? Cos at the moment I'm struggling to comprehend just 'ow something like this could of occurred in a bar full of ruddy, bloody, policemen!' He ran out of breath and stalked away, clearly deeply affected by this seemingly pointless attack on someone he classed as a good friend.

'I can't believe it Ma'am... how could someone... _why _would someone...' Chris shook his head and trailed off back into his thoughts. Gene wasn't the only one affected. Luigi was a friend to all of them, and the frustration of not knowing why or who was only seconded by the sheer concern that their Italian friend and confidante would be okay.

A tall, red haired man approached the trio and they all rose anxiously, desperate for news yet fearful that it wouldn't be what they wanted to hear.

'Which one of you is DCI Hunt?' Dr Peters questioned Ray and Chris.

'DCI Hunt has gone for some fresh air, I'm DI Drake and this is DS Carling and DC Skelton. How is Luigi?'

'As I said to you when you arrived, he is lucky to be alive. The amount of blood lost could have easily killed him, but it seems he has a strong heart, and an even stronger will to live.'

'What about his eyes?' Alex heard her voice tremble as she asked.

'At the moment it looks as though there were no cuts to the eyes or eyelids, but there could be glass shards in there we haven't recovered yet.'

Gene rounded the corner at that point, seeing the Doctor and stopping dead still, expecting the worst.

'Ah, DCI Hunt I presume?' Gene nodded. 'We're currently operating on Mr. Bianchi. He is showing good vitals and has been stable for the last twenty minutes. I was just telling your colleagues that without the ambulance arriving when it did, we would be looking at a completely different situation here.'

Gene spoke softly. 'If the ambulance hadn't have been called when it was..?'

'Luigi would have died from blood loss fairly rapidly.' Dr Peters explained.

Gene looked at Chris and Ray for a moment before turning back to the Doc.

'When can we see him?'

'Well as I say, he's still in surgery at the moment. I imagine it will be a couple of hours before he emerges, and then he'll be in recovery... if you can wait until morning, he should be in shape for visitors. He may not be able to talk though, we can't say for sure until we have established how deep some of the cuts have gone.'

Gene nodded, and Alex gave her thanks to the Doctor as he left. All was silent for a couple of minutes, as the relief for Luigi sank in.

'You rang the ambulance. You saved his life. More important than anythin' else. I shouldn't have had a go.' Gene grimaced as he spoke to his deputies; apologies never were his strong point.

'Forget it, Guv,' Ray replied, clearly exhausted, 'This has knocked us all for six.'

And as they made their way out of the hospital, 'We're going to catch this bastard, whoever he is. For Luigi.'

The sound of the phone ringing woke Alex next morning. She'd had a fitiful night's sleep, and wasn't ready to wake up.

She grabbed the phone blindly and lifted it to her ear. 'Hello?'

'Bols.'

Her eyes flew open at his voice and she sat up straight. 'Guv?'

'I know it's your day off, but I need you in here. I've had a... delivery. It's about Luigi.'

'I'll be straight there.'

Fifteen minutes later Alex was in Gene's office.

'You've no idea who might have sent this to you?' she asked, taking the proffered letter from Gene.

'I've been trying to work that out all morning, Bolly. Thing is, when you're a suave and sophisticated southern-shitkicker like me you tend to make a few enemies.'

'Did Viv see who delivered it?' Alex asked, dropping down into the chair as she read, chewing the inside of her cheek.

'It was a young lad, no more'n seven or eight.' Gene got up from his seat and turned to look outside, hands in his pockets. 'Someone probably slipped him a quid for the trouble.'

'Well whoever it is, they're certainly serious about the grudge they have for you. If it was something petty they would have tried to get to you personally, not hurt the people around you.'

'Cowards, that's what they are. Knew they couldn't fight me so decided to go for an innocent instead.'

'It's the Mafia-mentality: they come to you last, plucking out the people you love the most first. They want to see you suffer, but not physically, not yet.' Alex raked her fingers through her curls, then took an evidence bag from the top of a filing cabinet and placed the letter inside. She took it to Ray, instructing him to get it through forensics as quickly as possible.

When she re-entered Gene's office, he was sat lighting a cigarette, the words of the letter imprinted on his mind.

_You won't remember me, but I remember you. I'm not going to tell you who I am, you're the Detective, work it out for yourself. But not until you've worked out who my next victim will be. You've done me a huge wrong, and now you're going to watch those around you pay for it. I've given you Number 1: The little Italian fellow who runs the bar you love so much. Maybe that's not close enough though, maybe next time it will be one of your precious little workers, one of the drones. Maybe I'll keep it in the family, take down another Hunt before I get to you. Maybe it will be a lover, I've seen you come and go with enough. So who's it gonna be, Gene? You'll know soon._

'It'll be okay, Guv, we'll find him.'

'What makes you so sure it's a man?' he blew smoke at the ceiling.

'Only a very miniscule percentage of women perpetrate hate crimes on other people except the one they're targetting. Plus, the syntax in the letter points to a male writer.'

Gene nodded, pouting. 'I've already briefed the team, told them to keep their wits about them, although I don't know how much of that registered with our Christopher.' Alex pulled a small smile. 'I've no family to warn, so the fucker's stumped there.'

'That just leaves lovers.' Alex looked anywhere but at him, but she could feel his eyes on her like a lazer.

'As hard as it is to believe Bols, it's um... been a while.' he leant forward and stabbed out his cigarette, gulping a mouthful of whisky and not taking his eyes off her.

Alex could feel blush prickle at her face. 'Shouldn't have anything to worry about there then.'

'I don't want anyone else to get hurt. All I've got to do is look after my team.'

'And last night?' she asked him directly. 'What if Ray and Chris hadn't walked in? We need to talk about that, Gene.'

Gene shifted in his chair and paused before he spoke. 'In light of recent events I'd say that whatever was going to happen last night, stops there. Just by being one of my team you're a possible target. It'd be reckless for you to fit another description on this psycho's hitlist.'

'I don't care about fitting into a description, Gene! I could get killed just by being in your team, it wouldn't make any difference whether I was... something else, to you.'

He jumped out of his chair suddenly, turning on his heel and rubbing his neck. 'Alex, don't you think I wanted something to happen between us last night? Don't you think I wanted to-' he turned to make sure his door was firmly closed and looked at her, 'kiss ya? More?' he shook his head. 'You don't get it. It's too dangerous, Bols. I will not have any member of my team getting attacked or worse under my watch.'

'Don't I get a say in the matter?' Alex stood and faced him. 'Y'know what, you're right, Gene. Even if Luigi was never attacked, and this whole mess wasn't happening, it still wouldn't have worked. Isn't that what you're thinking? Has the letter given you a good excuse to fob me off?'

Gene's lack of a reply gave Alex her answer. Before she knew what happened she was stood in the kitchenette, tears and anger burning her cheeks. _I thought he felt the same, how could I have been so stupid? _

An hour later they were by Luigi's hospital bed. They hadn't spoken a word to each other in the car, although in her side vision Alex noticed Gene's mouth open and close as if he were about to say something, but he kept putting one cigarette after another in his mouth to stop himself. Alex couldn't have arrived at the hospital quick enough, and stalked away from Gene to find Luigi on her own.

Luigi's entire face and neck was bandaged and he was heavily sedated. The operation had been successful in stitching his wounds, but they hadn't counted on the amount of pain he would be in and had to administer strong kncokout painkillers.

'Luigi,' Alex started, 'It's Alex Drake. DCI Hunt is here too. We are so sorry this happened to you,' her voice started to break, but she kept it under control. She'd be damned if she was going to cry in front of Gene again . 'We are going to find the man that did this to you, and we are going to put him away for a very long time.'

'Not to mention kick seven bells of shit out of 'im.' Gene piped up gruffly, trying to catch Alex's eye but she wasn't taking the bait.

She took Luigi's hand. 'You're going to be okay. The doctors say you could be out in a couple of weeks.'

Gene cut in again. 'And er, don't worry about the scars, women love scars. Find it attractive.'

Alex looked up at him, unable to keep the distain from her face. 'You obviously don't have any then, Gene.' It was a weak retort, but she really wasn't in the mood for his stupid comments.

'Oh I've got plenty.'

_And I'll never know where_, Alex couldn't help the thought.

'He can't even hear us, Drake. It's pointless us being 'ere.'

About to grudgingly agree with him, Alex was suddenly cut off by a shrill scream and a large, Mediterranean woman bustling past her, sobbing in Italian. 'Oh, mio caro Luigi! Oh mio uomo bello ciò che hanno fatto a te!'

'You must be his wife,' Alex tried to ask, but it was obvious the woman couldn't speak English and was more interested than fussing over her sedate husband than talking to anyone else. Alex and Gene slipped out quietly, and by the time they got outside she decided to catch a bus home.

'Don't be stupid, woman, I'll drive you!' Gene yelled after her.

'Stupid?' she turned back to him, 'Stupid is not living your life out of fear! I had you down as anything but a coward, Gene.'

'Do not call me a bloody coward!'

'What would you call it then, Guv? I don't even care anymore, it's over. I want that transfer, back to Hyde. Maybe that's all I need to do to get home.'

'No one leaves my team unless I say so!' Gene was struggling to find words to keep her from leaving. 'Get in this car now, Drake, and that's an order!'

'I'm off the team, Gene! I'm leaving! Promote Ray, you know it's what he wants.'

'He might have the perm, Bolly, but he hasn't got the looks... and a bit more tackle down south than I'm used to!' as he tried and failed to lighten the mood, Alex just shook her head and walked away. He knew then unless he did something, she would be lost to him for good.

It had taken everything Gene had not to take Alex into his arms that morning and show her just how much he wanted to be with her, how much he wanted to keep her safe and go to bed every night with her lying next to him. He would never put it into words though; he felt like a poof just thinking it.

She had been looking for a resolution to the constant flirting and teasing that had gone on between them in the year since she had joined Fenchurch East, the same resolution he had wanted within an hour of knowing her. He couldn't give it to her though, or to himself. The truth was, although he _was _concerned for Alex, he was also afraid at what it would do to _him _if anything happened to her.  
Gene didn't think he could handle it, simple as.

After an unsuccessful afternoon spent trying to indentify the young boy who had delivered the letter, as well at going over old case files to see if they could draw up a list of suspects, Gene found himself sat in the quattro outside Luigis. The restaurant was closed until further notice, which had forced Ray and the rest of CID to move onto The Red Lion in town. Gene had lied and said he was going to stay at the office and carry on with the files, but not five minutes after they'd left he had made his way to his car and parked out here. It was coming up to an hour since he'd arrived, but he was still debating whether or not it was safe for him to go in. If someone was watching him, they were bloody good. He'd checked out all the places someone might be waiting, and found nothing. Finally deciding it was now or never, Gene slipped out of the car and up the steps to Alex's flat.

Alex was in bed when she heard the knocking, and when getting up found she barely had the energy to answer it. She had done nothing but sleep since she got back from the hospital, too drained to worry about Gene or getting home anymore. Something had to give, she knew that now. She was either going home, or staying in this world, even if it wasn't in Gene's department.

Tying her dressing gown around her waist she padded to the door, peering out from behind the chain.

It was Gene, stood with his head to the floor, eyes up, looking at her. Alex undid the chain but made no movement to let him in. If he'd come to bring the transfer papers she'd take them and he could leave.

'Aren't you going to let me in then?' he said finally.

'What do you want, Gene?'

_I want to get you out of that dressing gown. _'I want to talk.'

'Fine, talk.' Alex folded her arms.

'Look, it's risky me even bein' here so the least you could do is let me in off this step where someone might be watching.'

She sighed and stepped aside as Gene brushed past her and into the living room.

He stood for a second, clutching and releasing his fists at his sides, feeling a lot less confident than he was a few moments ago.

'So what do you want to talk about?' Alex had stayed by the door, now closed, her jaw clenched and arms still folded.

'Uhh... I think there's stuff we need to say...' _Come on you twat, spit it out! Now she thinks you're illiterate as well as a tosser! _'I don't want you thinkin' I didn't want what you wanted today...'

'Are you talking about the transfer?' Alex was still oblivious.

'No, no...' He stepped closer to her. 'Last night in my office... of course I wanted it. Then next minute I've got some nutter glassin' Luigi's face and threatening my team, threatening anyone I might see out of work... I didn't want to put you into a position where you might end up dead, just because I couldn't stop myself from...'

'I'm already at risk though, Gene, we all are, but there's psychos like this all everywhere, all of the time! It can't stop you from living.' She came closer to him, 'Surely it's my decision to make? My risk?'

He shook his head, 'Gene Hunt looks out for his team, end of. I couldn't live with myself... Don't want you to go, Bols. We all need you 'ere, as much as that might astound ya.'

Alex smiled sadly. 'I don't think I _can _stay here, either way.'

'What, not even for Dover Sole?' he half-smiled, feeling his guts ache as he realised he couldn't stop her from going if she'd made her mind up.

'No, not even for that.' Alex stepped closer to him, now so close she could smell his aftershave, almost sending her dizzy. 'After we find whoever did this to Luigi, I _am_ leaving here. Even if I can't find my way home, I still can't stay, knowing we can't...' she put the flat of her palm to his chest and shifted so they were nose to nose, 'knowing we'll never...' a tear fell down her cheek and Gene lightly brushed it away with his thumb, holding her face in his hands and bringing her lips to his. Alex was lost in the taste of him as their mouths met, the sharp tang of whisky and cigarettes filling her senses as they kissed, softly at first and then harder with as the hunger for each other took over. Minutes which seemed like hours passed before they broke away, both of them breathless and bruised lipped, charged with feeling and need.

'Gene, stay. Stay wth me tonight.'

He didn't need to think, didn't want to rationalise think about all the reasons why he shouldn't. 'Ok.'


End file.
